Carly Cartoon

Team Fiorina responds to report trying to tie few donations from HP employees to candidate’s time as CEO

Carly Fiorina’s campaign is pushing back against a published report suggesting the candidate’s tenure running Hewlett-Packard was so bad that no former employee wants to donate to her 2016 White House bid.
Fiorina raised $1.7 million from the May 5 start of her campaign until June 30, the end of the first filing period. However, just two people who contributed during that time identified themselves as Hewlett-Packard executives, according to the most recent Federal Election Commission filings.
The donations were made by former board member Ann Livermore and husband Thomas Livermore, who each gave $2,700.
A Sept. 30 story in The Daily Beast suggested the dearth of support from employees speaks volumes about Fiorina’s legacy at the computer-technology giant, despite the Republican candidate touting herself on the campaign trail as a fearless and overall successful chief executive at Hewlett-Packard from 1999 to 2005.
“The lack of early financial support from almost anyone associated with Hewlett-Packard is hard to square with Fiorina’s own description of her achievements there,” reads one part of the story.
Fiorina spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores said Friday that the story is another attempt to belittle Fiorina’s business chops.
“The liberal media is once again showing that they will hide facts and mislead readers as long as it fits their narrative,” she told Foxnews.com.
The story also points out that no contributions were made by Meg Whitman, Hewlett-Packard’s current chief executive and a former California GOP gubernatorial candidate, nor any members of the company’s senior leadership team and board of directors during Fiorina’s tenure, with one exception.
The campaign points out that most of the $1.7 million raised early in the campaign was in small donations and that listing one’s occupation when contributing is not a legal requirement.
As for HP executives, there are currently no members left over from Fiorina’s tenure and they tend to stay “politically neutral” during elections, the campaign also argued.
“I don’t think it is an issue for her,”  GOP strategist Mark Corallo said Friday.
He said Fiorina’s CEO credentials got a big boost in August when former board member Tom Perkins took out a full-page advertisement in The New York Times saying Fiorina was a strong steward of HP through the dotcom bust and that he regretted voting to fire her.
“Carly’s vision and execution not only helped to save HP but made it a strong, more versatile company that could compete in the changing technology sector,” said Perkins, co-founder of the California venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.
Corallo said Perkin’s praise is like gold in the business world and should count for something in the political arena, too.
“The guy is a legend,” he said. “For him to come out and say ‘I was wrong and I’m supporting her for president,’ I think that says more to me than any middle manager at HP giving 50, 100 or 1,000 (dollars) or whatever.”
Fiorina’s time at HP has dogged her politically since her failed 2010 bid to unseat California Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer.
She led the charge to acquire Compaq, which barely got 50 percent of the board and shareholder approval and has since been pilloried as unwise. And 30,000 people were laid off under her watch.
More recently, primary opponents such as Donald Trump have raised the issue of her business acumen at HP.
"The company is a disaster and continues to be a disaster," Trump said during the Sept. 16 primary debate. "When Carly says the revenues went up, that's because she bought Compaq. It was a terrible deal, and it really led to the destruction of the company."
Fiorina responded by saying that she grew the business from roughly $44 billion to $90 billion and had other successes in the middle of the biggest technology recession in 25 years.
“You can’t fudge the numbers,” she said on the stage. “We went from lagging behind to leading in every product category in every market segment.”
Fiorina’s performance led to a boost in poll numbers. She is now at 11.8 percent, behind Trump and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson in the GOP primary field, in an averaging of polls by the nonpartisan website RealClearPolitics.
But it is not yet clear whether her rise will result in a fundraising boon or if more HP employees and executives have opened up their wallets for their former chief executive officer.
The next quarter filings, July 1 to Sept. 30, are due by the campaigns on Oct. 15.  

GOP House leadership race intensifies with Chaffetz mentioned, McCarthy counting every vote

If you want to know how well a member of the congressional leadership is fairing, check their fingernails. Inspect the cuticles. Peer at the epidermis. Any hangnails? Are they in need of a manicure?
Former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss, knows a lot about the rigors of serving in congressional leadership.
And political palmistry.
“I kept noticing, I kept getting these ridges on my fingernails,” said Lott during a visit to the Capitol this week.
Lott sought out a doctor.
“I said, ‘What is this?’ He said, ‘Well, that’s stress,’ ” said Lott, recalling the conversation.
We already knew that candidates seeking a promotion in the House Republican leadership ranks were battling tooth and nail after Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, announced his resignation.  Perhaps with an emphasis on the nail. This brings a whole new spin to the term “nail biter.”
Lott was a member of the House or Senate leadership for about 17 of the 34 years he served in Congress. He served as House minority whip, Senate majority whip, Senate majority leader, Senate minority leader, Senate majority leader (again) before concluding his tour as Senate minority whip.
And Lott lived the perils of leadership. There’s the pressure. The second-guessing. The infighting. Every word scrutinized and parsed. It’s a lot like the current firestorm embroiling House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican and the frontrunner to succeed Boehner.
McCarthy suggested on the Fox News Channel that House Republicans empaneled the chamber’s Select Committee on Benghazi strictly to quash the presidential aspirations of Democrat Hillary Clinton. And that sent the House into a tizzy.
McCarthy’s line was an offhanded comment like the one that swatted Lott from his majority leader perch in December 2002.
It was the 100th birthday party in the Dirksen Senate Office Building for the late-Sen. Strom Thurmond, R-S.C.  Thurmond sought the presidency in 1948 on the Dixiecrat ticket that championed state’s rights and segregation.
“When Strom Thurmond ran for president, we voted for him,” Lott opined at the Thurmond soiree. “We’re proud of it. And if the rest of the country had followed our lead, we wouldn't have had all these problems over the years, either,”
Lott’s apparent backing of Thurmond’s once-segregationist politics torpedoed him from the majority leader’s suite by Christmas.
“It’s windy when you are in the leadership in the House and Senate,” Lott said.
He says when you serve in leadership, someone is always coming for you. Always putting you on the spot. He recounted efforts of political foes who checked into the fidelity of his marriage and his personal finances.
“What did they finally get me with? My own words,” Lott exclaimed.
Lott’s run in leadership in both the House and Senate is remarkable because of its longevity. But you can’t avoid the controversy.
“In the leadership, you take on barnacles like a ship at sea and they start to weight you down after battle,” he said. “Once you get in the leadership, there ain’t no such thing as purity.”
This is why there is discord in the Republican ranks over McCarthy. The House Republican Conference will vote behind closed doors on Thursday to tap a speaker-designate.
But it’s the full House that elects the speaker. House rules dictate that the successful candidate command not just the most votes -- but an absolute majority of those casting ballots.
Upon Boehner’s resignation, the House will have 434 seats. That means the magic number -- if everyone votes for a candidate by name -- is 218. With 246 Republicans in the House by that point, the next GOP Speaker can only lose 28 votes.
Boehner lost 25 Republicans in the January speaker vote. Think those who voted for someone besides Boehner aren’t more revved up now than they were over the winter?
“Nobody has 218 today for speaker,” said Rep. Tim Huelskamp, a Kansas Republican and often an antagonistic voice when it comes to the GOP leadership. In January, Huelskamp cast his speaker ballot for Rep. Dan Webster, a Florida Republican who is running again.
Huelskamp says Republicans are watching McCarthy closely after the Benghazi declaration.
“Those comments were not helpful,” he said. “I don’t think that got him one vote.”
Another GOP source who asked not to be identified said some Republicans are looking for an “excuse” to vote against McCarthy. And they may have found it.
“Kevin is dealing with some very thin margins on the floor” in the speakership vote, said Rep. David Jolly , R-Fla., adding the Benghazi comment “took its toll.”
“It would be helpful, given the way (McCarthy’s Benghazi remarks were) interpreted if the majority leader clarified his remarks,” said Rep. Scott Rigell, R-Va., who also voted for Webster in January.
McCarthy tried to do just that Thursday night during an appearance on Fox’s “Special Report with Bret Baier.”
“I did not intend to imply in any way that the work (of the Benghazi Committee) was political,” McCarthy said.
Congressional observers generally panned McCarthy’s appearance, saying it failed to clean up the mess. One GOP source suggested that McCarthy had failed one of his first tests as a speaker candidate. When asked if he had the necessary 218 votes, McCarthy replied “We’re very close, yes.”
A failure to secure 218 votes on the first ballot for speaker would be a blow to McCarthy  -- even if he’s ultimately successful.
A second or third ballot for speaker immediately diminishes his political prowess. It exposes vulnerabilities and reflects the volatility of House Republicans. No vote for speaker has gone to a second ballot since 1923. And if McCarthy does emerge the victor, it might not be for long.
“If he’s lucky, he gets a two-week honeymoon,” said one senior Republican.
“I give him six months,” augured one lawmaker.
On Wednesday, the House voted to avoid a government shutdown. Only 91 Republicans voted yes. Democrats, as is customary these days in the House, carried the way with 186 yeas. McCarthy voted aye. Webster voted nay. Some conservatives viewed that roll call tally as a possible litmus test for speaker.
Oh. And House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, voted nay.
Chaffetz is now tinkering with running for speaker, potentially disrupting the entire race. Earlier in the week, he called for McCarthy to apologize for what he said about Benghazi. He also advocated Benghazi committee Chairman Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., for majority leader.
Chaffetz might not be able to command more votes than McCarthy in the closed-door conference vote or on the floor. But he can discombobulate the entire state of affairs.
To wit: The ballot for speaker in the Republican conclave is secret. But the GOP announces the vote tallies. How can Republicans proceed to a vote for speaker later this month if McCarthy or anyone else receives fewer than 218 backers in the conference meeting?
Moreover, presuming McCarthy commands the most votes for speaker in the conference, how can Republicans immediately vote for a prospective vacancy in the majority leader’s slot when it’s not clear that the current majority leader has the votes to prevail in the speaker vote the floor?
No one has the answers to these questions right now.
There’s a reason why other GOP stalwarts like House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, Wisconsin; Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling, Texas;  and even Gowdy aren’t pursuing any leadership position now.
“Where’s the varsity?” asked one House Republican.
Here’s the answer.
“This isn’t a manageable conference right now,” said one House Republican. “We’re too fratricidal.”
In other words, respected lawmakers aren’t pursuing a position in the GOP ranks because the rank-and-file will eat them alive -- perhaps immediately.
On Friday, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew sent a letter to Congress, begging lawmakers to raise the debt ceiling by November 5.
“Without sufficient cash, it would be impossible for the United States of America to meet all of its obligations for the first time in our history,” Lew posited.
An increase in the debt limit is one of the most-toxic votes a member of Congress can take. A failure to do so could call into question the credit-worthiness of the U.S. to say nothing of triggering a global financial shock.
Anyone in leadership -- or pursuing leadership -- is on the hottest of seats right now.
So why would McCarthy put himself through this?
“It was the only chance he has to be speaker, if only for a short period of time,” one lawmaker said.
And what about those passing on a leadership bid now?
“Kevin McCarthy has had this opportunity cast upon him and he knows it will shorten his career,” said Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, R-Neb. “It could be seen as an act of humility and leadership character.”
With such a rambunctious group, how could anyone run the House with authority? If the chamber does elect McCarthy, Trent Lott thinks he knows how he would succeed.
“He worked with Bill Thomas, the most-impossible person to work for,” said Lott with a laugh.
Thomas is the former House Ways and Means Committee chairman. McCarthy served as Thomas’s top aide in his California congressional district. McCarthy won Thomas’s congressional seat when his mentor retired. Thomas was smart as a whip and wielded a steady hand on the House’s tax-writing panel. He was also known for sporting one of the most acerbic, caustic temperaments of any lawmaker in the House.
McCarthy’s nature is a polar opposite of Thomas’s. McCarthy is genial. A backslapper. Inviting. Non-confrontational. Funny. Some ask if that’s what the House needs now. Can McCarthy play tough with Tea Party lawmakers? Will he just go-along-to-get-along with Republicans, inviting major standoffs on key issues this fall. Can he spar with Democrats, namely House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
“She goes for the kill when she senses weakness,” said one lawmaker. “You can’t show weakness with her.”
So why would anyone want this job, be it McCarthy, Webster or Chaffetz? Why would House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., or Budget Committee Chairman Tom Price, R-Ga., want to succeed McCarthy as majority leader?

Obama reacts to Bush's 'stuff happens' comment, sparking bipartisan, presidential debate

President Obama on Friday pushed back against GOP presidential candidate Jeb Bush’s “stuff happens” comment, in the renewed disagreement over gun-control in the aftermath of the fatal Oregon shootings.
Bush on Thursday suggested that more regulations is not always the correct response to a crisis.
"I don't think more government is necessarily the answer to this," he said. "I had this challenge as governor, because, look, stuff happens, there's always a crisis. And the impulse is always to do something. And it's not necessarily the right thing to do."
However, Democrats and others quickly focused on the “stuff happens” part and suggested the former Florida governor was dismissive or perhaps insensitive over the tragedy.
On Thursday, Christopher Harper Mercer, 26, fatally shot nine people in Oregon inside an Umpqua Community College classroom. Mercer, who apparently had emotional problems, was killed in an exchange of gunfire with responding officers.
At a press conference on Friday, Obama was asked about Bush’s comment and responded, “I don't even think I have to react to that one.
“I think the American people should hear that and make their own judgments, based on the fact that every couple of months, we have a mass shooting, and in terms of -- and they can decide whether they consider that ‘stuff happening.’ ”
The president also renewed his effort for tighter gun-control and suggested Americans vote against members of Congress who block such legislation and “let them know precisely why you’re voting against them.”
The Senate in 2013 failed to get 60 votes from chamber Democrats and Republicans to pass comprehensive gun-control legislation, after 26 people were fatally shot a year earlier inside the Sandy Hook Elementary School, in Newton, Conn.
The issue could well become a key point in the 2016 general election race, with Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton also making a case for tighter gun control in the aftermath of the Oregon shootings.
“I feel an absolute urgency for this country to start being sensible about keeping guns away from people who should not have them,” she said. “I'm going to be pushing this issue. … I would like us to be absolutely determined, as I am, to try to do something about this.”
Fellow GOP presidential candidates this week appeared to support Bush’s position.
Frontrunner Donald Trump told Fox News: “The truth is that this stuff is going to happen … whether we like it or not. People are going to slip through the cracks. They're mentally ill. There's a huge mental illness problem, and it's very sad. When you look at it, it's very sad.”
On Saturday, Ben Carson, a retired pediatric neurosurgeon, said that if elected his administration would focus on the early-warning signs exhibited by gunmen in mass-shootings to try to prevent future tragedies.
“Taking guns away does not solve this problem,” Carson, whom most polls show is second place behind Trump, told Fox News. "The Ben Carson administration would be making decisions based on ideology."

Witnesses say Oregon gunman handed something to student to give to authorities

The 26-year-old gunman who killed fellow students at an Oregon community college spared a student and gave the “lucky one” something to deliver to authorities, according to the mother of a student who witnessed the rampage.
Parents of students in the classroom said the gunman shot one after saying she could save her life by begging. Others were killed after being told to crawl across the floor. Shooter Christopher Sean Harper-Mercer later killed himself as officers arrived to the school, Douglas County Sheriff John Hanlin said Saturday.
Though authorities haven’t disclosed whether they have a package or envelope from Harper-Mercy, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press a manifesto of several pages had been recovered.
Bonnie Schaan, the mother of 16-year-old Cheyanne Fitzgerald, said she was told by her daughter that the gunman gave an envelope to someone and told him to go to the corner of the classroom. Harper-Mercer allegedly said the person “Was going to be the lucky one,” Schaan told reporters outside a hospital where her daughter’s kidney was removed after she was shot.
Schaan isn’t the only parent or relative to have said that the killer gave someone a package to another student to hold on to.
Pastor Randy Scroggins, whose 18-year-old daughter Lacey escaped without physical injuries, said she told him that the gunman called to a student, saying: “Don’t worry, you’re the one who is going to survive.”
Janet Willis said her granddaughter Anastasia Boylan was wounded in the attack and pretended to be dead as Harper-Mercer kept unloading, killing eight students and a teacher.
Willis said she visited her 18-year-old granddaughter in a hospital in Eugene, where the sobbing Boylan told her: "'Grandma, he killed my teacher!'"
Boylan also said the shooter told one student in the writing class to stand in a corner, handed him a package and told him to deliver it to authorities, Willis said.
The law enforcement official who disclosed the existence of the manifesto to the Associated Press, didn’t disclose its contents but described it as an effort to leave a message for law enforcement. The official is familiar with the investigation but was not authorized to disclose information and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The official said the document was left at the scene of the shooting but wouldn't specify how authorities obtained it.
Authorities said in a press conference Saturday that Harper-Mercer committed suicide after an exchange of gunfire with officers in Thursday’s shooting.
Hanlin said officers responded immediately to a report of shots being fired on the campus. He said two Roseburg police department officers arrived within five minutes and were joined by an Oregon state trooper.
He said two minutes later the officers told the dispatcher they had engaged the shooter.
The sheriff said two minutes after that “the dispatcher reports the shooter is down.”
The officers exchanged gunfire with the shooter who was “neutralized at that time,” Hanlin said without mentioning the gunman by name. He has said to mention the gunman by name would only give him the notoriety he was seeking.
As the press conference was unfolding, Mercer’s family issued a brief statement, saying “we are shocked and deeply saddened by the horrific events.”
“Our thoughts, our hearts and our prayers go out to all of the families of those who died and were injured,” their statement said.
Hanlin also revealed Saturday that officers searching Mercer’s apartment found another gun.
The recovered weapon brought to 14 the total number of guns Mercer had left behind after the shooting. Six of those guns were in Mercer's possession at the college, along with a flak jacket and five magazines of ammunition. The other weapons were found in his apartment.
Hanlin said an FBI behavioral analyst team was on the scene “to help us understand the why of this event.”
Mercer moved with his divorced mother to Oregon from California two years ago. He was booted from the Army after one month. On social media he expressed a fascination with the Irish Republican Army and frustration with traditional organized religion. He also tracked other mass shootings.